Well, well, it has been a long time. There’s so much to write about, that I hardly know where to begin. Tom and I spent December through March driving across the US, visiting family and friends. It was a great trip, and we had a great time visiting everyone, however the theme of our vacation so far certainly seems to be ‘driving’. We were definitely road-weary by the time April rolled around and we moved into our new place in Yosemite.This place is pretty cool. It’s located on a spur neighborhood just outside of Yosemite National Park, about 25 minutes from the Valley proper. It’s wonderful to be living in the mountains, surrounded by pine trees and stunning vistas, so close to such big rocks. Living a half hour from amenities like groceries or gas stations is taking a little bit of getting used to, but it’s easy to fall into a nice rhythm here.
The house is owned by a famous climber named Hans Florine, and has a bit of a basecamp feel to it. People, presumably friends of Hans, drop by unannounced and crash out on the bunks downstairs or on the floor in the living room. The climbing caliber is through the roof, and they have been, so far without exception, really cool, interesting people. We had a particularly interesting conversation the other night with Greg Crouch, who entertained us all with his ideas for a new story that he’s trying to sell.
The weather, so far, hasn’t been particularly conducive to climbing. While the snow and clouds make the Valley particularly scenic, we’ve had it up to HERE with scenic, and are ready for some dry weather. After our long trip, with hardly any climbing to speak of, I had my usual trouble with getting back on the rock. I wasn’t sure if I was strong enough to get on things that used to be challenging, and so tentative mentally that I’d get scared leading things far below my old abilities. It’s taken a few days, but now I feel like I’m back in the swing of things. Tom and I climbed the first few pitches of the Salathe yesterday (a long route on El Cap), and although I was so far from freeing the 11a roof on pitch 3 it wasn’t funny, I did manage to lead some 10b and 10c cleanly and relatively confidently.
Of course, I blew the chance to climb in nice weather this morning. There were a couple of job-hunting tasks that demanded attention. The job hunt is promising. I had an interview in SF last Friday, which I thought went pretty well, and am waiting to hear back from them. I’m really excited about moving into consulting for biotech or pharmaceutical companies. It is a great match for my expertise and interests.